IGNITED
(A Most Wanted Novel #3)
by J. Kenner
He promised to take me as far as I could go—and
I wanted to go to the edge. My whole life has been a cover, a con, a
lie. I was born into the grift, raised on the thrill of playing someone
I’m not. As a rule, I never let anyone get too close—until Cole August
makes it impossible for me to stay away. Cole is tough, sexy, and
intensely loyal, yet his secrets are dark and his scars run deep. Not
many women can handle his past, or the truth behind his fierce demands.
But something about him beckons me—and our desire is a game I must play.
I know he’s dangerous, that even his touch is trouble, but what is
passion without a little risk?
He
let go, then moved to face me. I missed his touch, but the trade-off
was worth it. I’m not the kind of girl who swoons over hunky firemen
calendars and I’ve only seen
Magic Mike once. But as far as eye
candy went, Cole was a walking, talking Milky Way bar, and at least as
tempting.
“Really,”he confirmed. An easy smile bloomed on his face, and he shook
his head slowly, with obvious pleasure. “I didn’t realize that working
as a barista required such honed salesmanship.”
“I’m a woman of many talents,”I said, then fluttered my lashes.
“Damn right you are.”He drew in a breath as he looked at me, and try as I
might, I had no clue what he was thinking.
“That was quite the commission you just brought in,”he finally said. “I
have a feeling you’ll be getting Christmas cards from Tiki for the rest
of your life.”
“I look forward to it. What about you?”I asked boldly, and blamed it on
the wine. I met his eyes, and fervently hoped that mine really were a
window to the soul, because right then I wanted him to see straight
inside me. “What will I get from you?”
“That depends on what you want.”
“Want,”I repeated. Where Cole was concerned, what didn’t I want?
“I told you earlier that you owed me,” he said. “Do you want to call us
even?”
“Do you?”
He was silent for a moment, and then one moment longer. “No,”he finally
said.
I lifted my chin. “Good.”
His expression remained perfectly stoic, but he lifted his hand toward
my face, then dropped it, as if he were a child who’d caught himself
about to do something naughty.
“It’s okay,”I said, my voice almost a whisper. “I won’t break.”
“Don’t be so sure, blondie. I’ve been known to destroy even the most
resilient things.”
“I’m not a thing. And you won’t destroy me.”I hesitated only a second,
then took one step closer. The difference was only inches, but the air
seemed suddenly thicker, as if my lungs had to work harder to draw in
oxygen. “It’s okay,”I said again.
All around us, the party continued, but I’m not sure either one of us
was aware. Instead, it felt as if we’d stepped into a vortex, and at
least in our little corner of space and time nothing else mattered or
even existed.
I held my breath, wanting his touch so badly I could taste it. And when
he finally brushed the side of his thumb over my cheekbone, it was all I
could do not to moan aloud.
All too quickly he took his hand away, leaving me bereft.
All too quickly he stepped back, forcing the world around us to come
back to life.
“I just had to see if I was right,”he said.
“About?”
“Your skin. It’s like touching a promise.”
“Is it?”I murmured.
“Tender,”he said. “And a bit mysterious. With layer upon layer just
waiting to be discovered.”
My breath stuttered in my chest. “I didn’t know you thought that,”I
said. “I didn’t know you thought about me at all.”
He was silent for so long I began to fear he wasn’t going to answer.
When he spoke, his words cut through me, sharp and sweet. “I think about
you more than I should.”
It was suddenly very warm in the gallery. Little beads of sweat gathered
at the hairline on the back of my neck. I needed air, because it seemed
as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.
Somehow, miraculously, I formed words. “What are you thinking now?”
Finally it is Cole's turn. We've known all along that his story was
going to be toughest one of all. Evan and Tyler have dealt with their
demons, but what Cole has to overcome from his past is way more complex.
I
have been following these "knights" and love their stories. I have to
be honest and admit that my most favorite story of all was Evans' story.
This last installment being Cole's life, is full of HOT BDSM and the
anguish he needs to overcome.
Although entertaining, this was not
as exciting and thrilling as Evans and Tyler's story. Here, the focus
is mainly on the psychology of the characters and evolution of Catalina
from vanilla to hot BDSM.
I love these guys! I hope they keep getting into trouble in the future and we see them all up to mischief.
About J. Kenner
Julie
Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today,
Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over
forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Praised
by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and
eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including
super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and
paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures
of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a
feature film with 1492 Pictures. Her most recent trilogy of erotic
romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the
New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries. J.K.
lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several
cats.
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